The government in Buenos Aires says that ExxonMobil will spend $120 million to help Argentina develop its shale gas reserves. The Texas-based company says the money will be used to determine how to develop known reserves in the Neuquen Basin.
Argentina has an abundance of shale gas trapped in subsurface formations, which the country wants to exploit since its conventional gas production has been declining in recent years due to lack of investment. The US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration says that Argentina ranks third globally in shale gas reserves behind China and the United States.
On Sept. 20, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner met in New York with Mark Albers, senior vice president of ExxonMobil. Argentina has been forced to import LNG in recent years to meet domestic needs, and Kirchner has stated that she wants to ramp up shale gas development to build energy supplies and perhaps turn Argentina into a gas exporter.
ExxonMobil sold a 90,000-bpd refinery and over 700 service stations in Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina in early 2011 in order to concentrate on developing gas in the Neuquen Basin. Ultimately, the Texas company plans to invest about $76 million in the project.
Source: /ogfj.com